A MAN died when he stepped into the path of a lorry in a horrific tragedy on the M62.

He is thought to have pulled up on the hard shoulder of the motorway overlooking Scammonden Dam and then climbed from his car.

The horrific incident meant police had to close the motorway for several hours yesterday, causing chaos for many thousands of drivers.

The busy M62 westbound carriageway remained closed from shortly after 1.15pm until after 6pm last night, as police and Highways Agency officers investigated the incident.

At one point, traffic jams stretched back 15 miles to the retail park turn off at Junction 27.

Police tried to keep traffic flowing by diverting drivers off the M62 at Junctions 25 at Clifton and 24 at Ainley Top but at times the carriageway was at a standstill.

There is no westbound turn-off at Outlane so many drivers were stuck in the jams.

The motorway closure also meant that other roads in the Huddersfield area, including the A62 and the A640 were reduced to a chaotic crawl because of the heavy traffic.

Traffic jams stretched back for miles. At one point the queue from Brighouse stretched back through Bailiff Bridge and Wyke to Odsal, on the outskirts of Bradford.

Police last night confirmed the victim of the tragedy was a man aged 52 but were unable to reveal his identity.

He was taken to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary but was pronounced dead on arrival.

Police officers investigating the tragedy were studying film from motorway cameras.

A Highways Agency spokesman said: “The incident happened at Scammonden about 1.15pm and we immediately closed lanes one and two of the carriageway.

“West Yorkshire Police then needed to carry out a full investigation into the incident and the whole westbound carriageway had to be closed.

“We put on the warning signs along the whole motorway network in the region to try and get drivers to find alternative routes and joined the police in trying to divert drivers off at the earlier junctions.

“There were a lot of vehicles held up in the queue that built up between Junction 23 and the scene of the incident”.

Police investigating the man’s death appealed for anyone with any information to contact them on 0845 6060606.